Summary Box: Smartphones fuel Samsung profit

GALAXY: A surge in Galaxy smartphone sales fueled earnings at Samsung Electronics to a record high in the first quarter, usually a tough season for the global consumer electronics industry.

COMPETITON: Samsung sold more smartphones in the first three months of the year than Apple Inc., which makes the popular iPhone.

CONTEXT: Once regarded as a laggard in smartphones, Samsung has taken on Apple with Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Samsung's rise came largely at the expense of Nokia. The Finish handset giant, which had been the world's biggest handset maker since 1998, now reportedly trails Samsung in shipments.